How to price Airbnb and short-let cleaning
A practical way for UK cleaning companies to price holiday-let turnovers: work out what a clean really costs, set a price per property, and charge properly for linen, same-day turnovers and extras.
Updated · 8 min read
Most cleaning companies set their first turnover price by asking what others nearby charge and taking a little off. It wins the work, and then a two-bed flat that takes three hours turns out to pay less than a domestic clean. Short-let cleaning has costs a house clean doesn't: laundry, restocking, tight deadlines, weekend work and the travel between properties.
This guide gives you a way to price that starts from your own costs. It takes about half an hour with a spreadsheet, and you only need to do it properly once.
Three ways to charge
| Method | How it works | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| A fixed price per turnover | Each property has its own price for a standard clean. The host pays that every time a guest checks out. | Almost every short let. Hosts can pass it on as the guest's cleaning fee, and you are paid for the job, not the clock. |
| An hourly rate | You bill the time the clean took. | Deep cleans, first cleans of a new property, and anything you can't size up in advance. |
| A monthly fee | One price a month for a property, whatever the number of stays. | Long lets and serviced apartments with steady, predictable cleans. Risky for a busy Airbnb in summer. |
A fixed price per turnover, set property by property, is the one to build your business on. The rest of this guide is about getting that number right.
Work out what a clean costs you
- 1Time on site. How long the clean takes, multiplied by the number of cleaners. Use real times, not hopeful ones. If you haven't cleaned the property yet, walk round it first.
- 2Travel. The time to get there and on to the next job. Cleaners who are employed must be paid for travelling between jobs, so it is a real cost.
- 3What an hour really costs. Not only the wage. Add holiday pay, employer's National Insurance and pension, and the time you pay for that isn't spent cleaning.
- 4Supplies. Products, cloths, bin bags and anything you restock for the host.
- 5Laundry. If you wash the linen or send it out, price each bed and towel set. More on this below.
- 6Overheads. Insurance, vehicles, software, phones, and your own time running the schedule. Spread these across the cleans you do in a month.
- 7Profit. What is left after all of that. Decide the margin you want and add it on purpose.
Price the property, not the bedroom count
Two-bedroom properties are not all the same job. Before you quote, look at what actually takes the time:
- Bathrooms. An extra bathroom adds more time than an extra bedroom.
- Beds, not bedrooms. A room with two singles and a sofa bed in the lounge is three beds to strip and make.
- How it is furnished. Glass, mirrors, open shelving and pale carpets all take longer.
- Guests it sleeps. Eight guests leave more behind than two.
- Access. Parking, stairs, a key to collect, or a long drive from your other work.
- Outside space, hot tubs and barbecues.
Then check your guess against reality. After a few cleans, compare the price with the time the property really takes. A property that earns well under your usual rate per hour needs a new price or a conversation with the host.
Charge for the extras
The standard price should cover a standard clean. Everything else is an extra, and it should be written down and agreed before you start working for the host, not argued about afterwards.
| Extra | How to charge it |
|---|---|
| Linen and laundry | A price per bed set and per towel set, whether you wash it or use a laundry. Don't hide it inside the clean: beds vary too much. |
| Same-day turnovers | A surcharge when a guest checks in the same day another leaves. You are giving that job priority over everything else. |
| Deep cleans | Hourly, or a fixed price a few times a year. Ovens, inside windows, behind furniture. |
| Excessive mess | An hourly rate on top when a property is left in a state, with photos to show the host why. |
| Restocking | Cost plus a handling charge for toilet roll, soap, tea and coffee, or a flat amount per clean. |
| Bank holidays and late changes | A higher rate for Christmas, New Year and bank holidays, and for a clean booked or moved at short notice. |
| Call-outs | A fixed fee for a lock-out, a mid-stay clean or a trip to let a tradesperson in. |
Things to check in the UK
Minimum wage and travel time
If you employ your cleaners, the time they spend travelling from one job to the next counts as working time for the minimum wage. A price that only covers time on site can leave you paying less than the legal minimum without meaning to. The current rates are on GOV.UK and usually change each April.
VAT
Once your turnover passes the VAT registration threshold you must register and add VAT to your prices. Check the current threshold on GOV.UK. Say on every quote whether the price includes VAT. Hosts who aren't VAT-registered can't claim it back, so to them it is simply a higher price.
Insurance
Public liability cover, and employers' liability if you have staff, belong in your overheads. Hosts will ask to see both.
Putting your prices up
- Review every property once a year, and whenever wages rise.
- Give notice in writing, a month or more ahead, with the new price and the date it starts.
- Bring the figures. "This property takes three hours, not two" is hard to argue with.
- Be ready to lose the properties that only work at a price that loses you money.
Knowing your real numbers
Every step above depends on knowing how long each property really takes, and most companies are guessing. In RoomZoom, cleaners clock in and out of each job in the cleaner app, so you see the time each property takes against what you charge for it, and which ones need a price rise.
Each property has its own price per clean, with extras added to the cleans they apply to, and each client's totals for the month are ready to export or invoice. See what RoomZoom costs, or sign up free: it is free for up to 5 properties, with no card needed.
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